Fun Facts About Garden Gnomes

Having a garden gnome in your lush green lawn or a garden not only enhances its beauty but also brings charm, care and prosperity for the garden and the family. Originally used as a garden decoration by the affluent people in Europe, garden gnomes have come a long way to find a humble place in our backyards or gardens. These magical creatures have an old history dating back to the second century AD, where the Roman emperor Hadrian had Hermits (a person hired to live alone) living throughout his villa gardens. This culture was back in fashion in the 18^th century and finally the gnomes came into existence.

All these gnomes have their little secrets which now we read as fun facts. For example, these lawn ornament figurines of small humanoid creatures were first known as Gartenzwerg in Germany which translates as Garden dwarfs. These kitschy beings of folklore are considered ageless who live in the earth and often guard the buried treasures and minerals in the ground. Here are some interesting facts about garden gnomes which you must know:

1. In 1847, Sir Charles Isham brought 21 of these bearded garden helpers, made of terracotta, to England to decorate his 90 foot rockery. He found these statues in Nuremberg, Germany, a country steeped in the folklore of gnomes, where these small creatures offered late night assistance in gardens and the protection of the property.
2. The world’s oldest garden gnome is Lampy, living in Lamport hall in the UK for 125 years now.
3. The first gnomes created were made from clay, porcelain or wood. While the modern ones are made from resin, plastic, ceramic, cement, plaster or very commonly with cast iron.
4. Gnomes were manufactured at a large scale by Philipp Griebel and August Heissner in Germany, but unfortunately the world wars wiped out most of their production.
5. Till 1937 these garden decor gnomes were simple statues unlike today’s brightly colored, grinning creatures which are now influenced by the Disney feature “Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs”.
6. Thought to be ageless, they are seven times stronger than humans and can live upto 400 years.
7. Sports like ‘Gnome Napping’ and ‘Gnome Spotting’ are becoming really popular in the western world.
8. They have an appreciable appearance as a travelling garden gnome in the movie ‘Amelie’ in 2001 which added to their popularity.
9. Again in 2004, a 60 cm tall outdoor gnome was the major part of the advertising campaign for ‘Travelocity’ making it more and more admirable.
10. Also in 2011, in a British American movie, Gnomeo and Juliet, the garden gnomes played the prime characters of Romeo and Juliet.
11. Male gnomes have a typical bright red pointed hat, solid colored clothes, and long white beard while female gnomes are known to be beard free, have long hair and the same red hat.
12. The female gnomes were known as Gnomide by the Villars but now are popularly called Gnomess.
13. It is believed that Kris Kingle in the gnome form visits the homes of the good children on Christmas eve. Children leave a bowl of porridge for him and in return, the Julenisse brings presents to their front door similar to Santa Claus.
14. Their iconic red cap originates from Mediterranean fishermen tradition. These fishermen would wear white hats at night if they wanted to be seen in the dark and red hats if they did not. According to folklore, gnomes prefer to stay hidden so they choose to wear the red ones.
15. Gnomes are known to be afraid of humans and loud noises.
16. However, they are quite fond of animals specially the burrowing animals like frog, squirrels or rabbits and are often allowed to wander around in the garden as they please.
17. Gnomes are known to rub noses in both greetings and goodbyes.
18. As they are a sign of lucky charm, it is considered as bad luck to break a gnome or ill-treat them.
19. Gnomes have a special language to communicate known as Gnomish.
20. They are generally vegetarian and eat foods like nuts, mushrooms, peas, beans, potatoes, fruits, berries, spices and vegetables. They like to drink mead dew made from fermented honey, fermented raspberries and spiced gin.
21. They live underground and have the ability to move very silently and quickly that it is difficult for a human to spot them.
22. They are attracted to shiny stuff such as gems and love colorful objects.
23. Gnomes can get pregnant with their gestational age ranging from 8 to 12 months.

These adorable creatures have many variations in the form of the garden metal art which includes the humorous ones and the serious ones. They can be found in all sorts of costumes and configurations for making them likeable by those who don’t like them. The exciting facts about lawn gnomes and metal lawn art are endless when we dig deeper into the world of the gnomes’ village, which you should know if you are a proud gnome keeper.

Happy reading :)